Conveyor hanger for television picture tubes and like articles



Jan. 14, 1958 M. L. HAYES 2,819,924

CONVEYOR HANGER FOR TELEVISION PICTURE TUBES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed July 10. 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v IN V EN TOR. Melba me Jan. 14, 1958 M. L. HAYES CONVEYOR HANGER FOR TELEVISION PICTURE TUBES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed July 10, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORI W. a H. M

CONVEYOR HANGER FOR TELEVISION PICTURE TUBES AND LIKE ARTICLES Melberne L. Hayes, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to National Video Corporation, Chicago, 111.

Application July 10, 1953, Serial No. 367,161

1 Claim. (Cl. 294-78) This invention relates'to a device for suspending an object while the same is being operated upon during the course of its manufacture, but more specifically to a device of that class when adapted to support a glass envelope of the type used for a cathode ray tube, e. g. a television picture tube, which vary in size over a substantial range.

Television picture tubes have, during the past few years, increased in size from the so-called 10" circular tube to the so-called 27" rectangular tube, with corresponding increase in weight from about 8 pounds to about 45 pounds. concomitantly consummation of such tubes has increased at a rapid pace so that the adoption of production line techniques in manufacture has become imperative, including the employment of chain type conveyors of the hanger type for transporting the tubes from one station to another for the several steps of manufacture.

Inasmuch as a single plant may process several sizes of tubes concurrently, it is desirable that a hanger for transporting such tubes, or which may remain stationary for certain purposes, embody not only sufiicient structural advantage to carry the weight of the heaviest tube but shall also be quickly adjustable with very little effort notwithstanding such heavy construction. Furthermore, inasmuch as the operator may be handling a certain size of tube at one moment and the conveyor may bring to his station an empty hanger which has been previously adnited States PateritO dislodgment.

ice

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view to illustrate the arrangement whereby the device may be operated singlehandedly;

Fig. 7 is a cross section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 shows in detail an alternative form of adjusting means.

Although the invention finds its primary application in supporting an object in the form of a television picture tube the same is capable of more general use.

Broadly regarded the invention comprises a pair of arms arranged for angular adjustment in a common plane about a common pivot and having a mutual configuration such that in the most divergent position thereof, the largest tube which the device is adapted to accommodate may be received without hazard. Preferably, the free ends of the arms are provided with bifurcations wherein the tapered portion of the body of a conventional television picture tube may rest; the adjusted position of the arms being such that the tube is supported against accidental tipping even when subjected to inadvertent minor To facilitate adjustment of the device the arms are provided with parts by means of which the arms may be locked in any of a plurality of positions, and readily unlocked for a new adjustment.

Referring to the drawings there is provided a pair of arms 10-10 of metal tubing or equivalent, each of which justed to a different size, it is also desirable that the hanger be instantaneously adjustable by a one-handed manipulation, on the assumption that the tube about to be loaded may be held in the crook of the other arm pending such adjustment.

In addition to all of the foregoing desiderata it is an object of this invention to provide a hanger which shall also be of minimum weight, not only to reduce the cost of manufacture, but to minimize the power consumed by the conveyor system and the overall strength of the conveyor itself, since a single such system may carry several hundred such hangers simultaneously.

Another object resides in the provision of a hanger as aforesaid which will receive any of the sizes of television picture tubes now standard, as well as larger sizes in contemplation, and by means of a single adjustment.

Other objects will appear from the following description which, together with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferred mode of carrying the invention into practice.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a preferred form of the invention device showing a tube supported therein;

Fig. 2 is an elevational detail of a portion of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale, to show the adjusting means;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but from the opposite side;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the showing of Fig. 2 viewed from the right hand side thereof;

Fig. 5 shows a cross section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

is substantially U-shaped, one leg 11 whereof is preferably disposed at an angle to the horizontal, as shown, and the other leg 13 whereof is preferably positioned horizontally, as shown. It is to be noted that the exact position or configuration of the legs 11-11 and 13-13 is not confined to those shown, but may be otherwise, e. g. semi-circular or semi-polygonal; the desideratum being that these legs, together with the side portions 14-14 define, in all adjusted positions of the arms, a space within which the body portion of a television picture tube 9 may fit without hazard of the same striking any of the parts of the device as the latter is subjected to inevitable minor agitation while being moved on a conveyor or truck about the manufacturing plant.

At the free end of each of the legs 13-13 there is provided a bifurcation 16-16 adapted to fit about the pertinent portion of the tube to support the same. Preferably, the bifurcations are coated with rubber or other cushion material to reduce the hazard of breakage.

In order to increase the latitude of the device the same is preferably rendered adjustable in order that the bifurcations 16-16 may receive larger or smaller tubes in their safest condition of balance. To this end the legs 11-11 are each secured, as by welding, to discs 21 and 22 respectively, both rotatably carried on a pin 23 passing through central apertures 24 and 25 in the discs, the pin having a cotter key 26. The pin 23 may be carried on any suitable support, e. g. a hanger 31 adapted to receive the discs between cheeks 32-32 thereof. An eye bolt 33 may be employed for suspending the entire device on a conveyor chain, truck or other movable or fixed ultimate support.

For effecting rapid adjustment of the arms lit-1t) and reliably maintaining such adjustment one of the discs, e. g. 22, is provided with a plurality of notches 36, and the other thereof with a latch 37 mounted on a pivot 38 carried in a projection 39 of the disc 21. A grasshopper spring 41 of a common type may be utilized to bias the latch to an engaged position, the active finger of the latch being indicated at 42 and the operating handle at 43. Thus, upon withdrawal of the finger 42 from a then-engaged notch 36 against bias of the spring 41, the discs 21 and 22 are freed for relative rotation to a newly adjusted position, and re-latching therein.

Frequently a plant may be processing several sizes of tubes concurrently so that upon approach of a device to a particular station the same may require readjustment to receive a tube which is smaller or larger than the one just removed therefrom. Not anticipating the necessary readjustment the operator may already have the tube in his hands ready to load. Consequently, it is desirable to arrange that readjustment of the device be capable of acccmplishment with only one hand, since, in that case. the operator may, for the brief time required to effect the re-adjustment, manage to hold the tube in the crook of one arm.

To satisfy this desirable objective I have arranged the handle 43 of the latch in close proximity to the leg 11 of the left hand arm 1i) (Fig. 6), and in such orientation that the operator may embrace between the fingers and thumb both the leg and the latch handle. Assuming a tube larger than the one just unloaded is to be placed in the device, the operator may, while releasing the latch, swing the left hand arm 10 clockwise, the other arm, being free to rotate, remaining in its lowest position as urged by gravity, while the re-adjustment is efiected. To reduce the capacity of the hanger, the operation will be effected in substantially the same manner except that in this case counter-clockwise movement of the released lefthand arm is ineffective to rotate the right-hand arm against gravity. In fact the left-hand arm will require little, if an manual assistance in regaining a lower, i. e. closer, position with respect to the other arm.

In Fig. 8 is illustrated an alternative form of latching means in which a latch 37a is pivoted in such manner that the finger 42:: thereof may be moved radially and the notches 36a are therefore located accordingly. Otherwise, the function is analogous to that of the means heretofore described. Here, one important advantage lies in the fact that single-handed operation is somewhat more convenient, since the contraction of a persons hand in grasping is of such character as to move a latch of the form of Fig. 8 more naturally.

While I have shown particular embodiments of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and I therefore contemplate by the appended claim to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

A device for suspending a television picture tube or like article upon an overhead conveyor with the larger end of the tube upwardly and the principal axis thereof vertical during manufacturing or other operations thereon which comprises a part for suspension on the conveyor, the point of suspension of the part being aligned with the tube axis, a. pivot having a horizontal axis carried by said part, a pair of rotatably-adjustable, disc-like members carried on said pivot in face-to-face relation, a depending arm rigidly secured to and forming individual rigid extensions of each of said members for mutual angular adjustment, each arm including at its lower free end a U-shaped element, said elements having their open ends confronting in a substantially horizontal plane for partially encircling the tube at points below its enlarged upper end and upon which the tube may be suspended in a suitably balanced position below said pivotal axis, means for maintainingsaid members in a predetermined, angularly-adjusted position comprising a. plurality of openings in one of said members corresponding to a plurality of adjusted positions of said arms and the provision on the other member of a latch supported for movement between latching and unlatching positions with respect to the said one member, said latch having a projection for engagement with a selected one of said openings and a handle for operating the same, the handle of said latch being disposed adjacent one of said arms for unlatching movement theretoward whereby manual movement of said arm in an opening or closing direction and release of said latch may be etfected concurrently with grasping movement of one hand, and bias means for urging said latch to latching position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 368,367 Aiken et a1 Aug. 16, 1887 436,717 Moore Sept. 16, 1890 550,779 Buchholz Dec. 3, 1895 1,677,695 Vogt July 17, 1928 2,415,898 Meadows Feb. 18, 1947 2,421,509 Knapp June 3, 1947 2,595,182 Weingarten Apr. 29, 1952 2,634,152 Dixon Apr. 7, 1953 

